We usually meet on the fourth Sunday of each month at 3:30 PM. Please check the Events Calendar or e-mail president@bsmcswil.com to confirm the meeting date and location. Due to holidays or a conflicting out of town event, we may have to reschedule the meeting.

]]>http://bsmcswil.com/meetings/feed0Scott personnel, Make-A-Wish re-do teenager’s room – 30 March 2011http://bsmcswil.com/scott-personnel-make-a-wish-re-do-teenager%e2%80%99s-room
http://bsmcswil.com/scott-personnel-make-a-wish-re-do-teenager%e2%80%99s-room#commentsTue, 05 Apr 2011 22:47:30 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=2129Click this picture to read the story about Juan Ortiz and his wish granted by the “Make-A- Wish Foundation and local groups.

]]>http://bsmcswil.com/scott-personnel-make-a-wish-re-do-teenager%e2%80%99s-room/feed0SWIL Buffalo Soldiers M/C in the December Biking Life Magazinehttp://bsmcswil.com/swil-buffalo-soldiers-mc-in-the-december-biking-life-magazine
http://bsmcswil.com/swil-buffalo-soldiers-mc-in-the-december-biking-life-magazine#commentsFri, 24 Dec 2010 06:04:07 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=1875Click the picture below to read the article about our 2010 “Kicking It In The Country” Block Party.

]]>http://bsmcswil.com/swil-buffalo-soldiers-mc-in-the-december-biking-life-magazine/feed0SWIL Presented with Street Sign in Honor of Mr. Robert Smoot – A True Buffalo Soldierhttp://bsmcswil.com/swil-presented-with-street-sign-in-honor-of-mr-robert-smoot-a-true-buffalo-soldier
http://bsmcswil.com/swil-presented-with-street-sign-in-honor-of-mr-robert-smoot-a-true-buffalo-soldier#commentsFri, 10 Dec 2010 02:43:35 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=1787The mayor of Brooklyn, Illinois Nathaniel O’Bannon, Jr. presented the SWIL Buffalo Soldiers M/C with an honored gift from the people of his city. A highly decorated Buffalo Soldier once lived here. So that they would never forget his service to his country, the city named at street after Mr. Robert “Smoot”. A copy of that street sign was presented to our club.

Cold saved soldier’s life; Brooklyn man earned 10 medals

The Army doctor said the cold saved Robert Smoot’s life in 1944.

Smoot says someone else saved him.

“I was hit by a shell in my back and leg,” said Smoot, placing his hand on the right side of his lower back and running it down his right leg. “I felt the pain, but after awhile the pain went away — I guess because of the cold weather.”

After a moment of unconsciousness, he woke to the sight of his wounded leg covered in frozen blood. After a three-hour ride through the mountains of Italy and a half-mile walk, Smoot arrived at the field hospital.

“When I hit the heat in the tent, I heard a guy say, ‘Get a wheelchair,’ and I passed out. When I came to, I was in bed with needles in both my arms.”

The doctor told Smoot his wounds should have killed him, but the cold weather kept him from bleeding to death.

Smoot, 85, of Brooklyn, said it couldn’t have been the weather that saved him. Several fellow soldiers died in that same cold.

The Purple Heart that Smoot earned is one of about 10 medals he received for his World War II service. He also received the Silver Star, the third-highest Army decoration, awarded for “gallantry in action.”

It was in the Apennine Mountains of northern Italy, and Smoot said the mission was to “hold the position” and keep German forces out.

Smoot was a sergeant in the U.S. Army’s 92nd Infantry Division, the “Buffalo Soldier” division that was the only black division to see combat in Europe. His job was to lead his squad up the side of a mountain to relieve a company of about 200 soldiers who were under German attack.

“We needed ammunition and troops to help us on the mountain,” Smoot said.

When he called down the mountain for help, he was told neither ammunition nor troops would be available until the next day.

Still under attack, Smoot got an order to “fix bayonets,” a phrase he said really means “get ready to die.” He pushed his squad up the mountain that night.

“Then a strange thing happened,” he said. “Fog came down the mountain so thick you could raise your hand 6 inches in front of your face and you couldn’t see it. Then I knew we were safe through the night.”

The squad moved into the German position the next morning only to find the Germans had retreated.

“They’d left their dead and anything they didn’t need,” Smoot said.

When Smoot wasn’t in combat, he dealt with being far from home and missing special family occasions.

“Every day was the same,” Smoot said. “You could say every day is Christmas, or you could say every day is Monday.”

He was 19 when he left college to enter the draft in 1942, and 23 when he returned home in 1946.

He said missing three Christmas dinners was especially difficult. He remembered December 1944 when his unit was promised a Christmas dinner. It would be their first hot meal since going overseas. It was canceled by a German attack.

“We never did get our Christmas dinner,” he said.

Although he was at war in a foreign land, Smoot said there were some parallels to life back home — such as racism.

He saw racism back home in the United States, such as when he was stationed in Fort Polk, La. Members of his all-black division and town residents clashed after a group of black soldiers were severely beaten during a visit into town.

A general was sent from Washington to relocate the unit to Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

In Europe, Smoot said his division ran into racism again after German soldiers spread rumors among Italians about the Buffalo Soldiers, whom the Germans dubbed “the African Outfit.”

“The Germans told the Italians all-black outfits will rape your girls and women, and take anything you have when they sweep through,” he said.

Smoot and other black soldiers dispelled the stereotypes after spotting Italian children playing in the mountains and finding their whole family had been in hiding. After he and other unit members assured the family they weren’t there to harm them, one of the men in the family made the signal for other families to come out of hiding.

“He waved and I guess there were 100 people that came out,” Smoot said.

Smoot said his personal goal was “to try and get the job done and get back home.”

Medals didn’t mean as much to Smoot as getting home to Brooklyn.

“Everybody made a big deal out of it,” he said. “In a way, I was so glad to get home it didn’t really matter.”

When he finally made it home, his post-war plans had changed.

“My ambition was to finish college and become a coach,” said Smoot, who had been one of the top high school athletes in the St. Louis. “But after three years overseas, everything left. My ambitions — boom — blew up.”

Smoot took a job as an instructor with the Army Reserve Corps and went on to become one of few blacks of his time to earn a Green Beret. Smoot served a total of 38 years in the Army before he retired in May 1980.

He married in 1950 and had a son and daughter before divorcing two years later.

“She thought I loved the Army more than her,” he said.

Smoot has been asked to share his story at local high schools, and even got an offer from famous director Spike Lee to talk about his experience for a film expected to come out in October.

He said although his life didn’t turn out as planned, his service left him satisfied.

]]>http://bsmcswil.com/swil-presented-with-street-sign-in-honor-of-mr-robert-smoot-a-true-buffalo-soldier/feed0SWIL Honors The Senior Citizens of Brooklyn, Illinois – Nov 2010http://bsmcswil.com/swil-honors-the-senior-citizens-of-brooklyn-illinois-nov-2010
http://bsmcswil.com/swil-honors-the-senior-citizens-of-brooklyn-illinois-nov-2010#commentsFri, 10 Dec 2010 02:21:24 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=1785The SWIL Buffalo Soldiers honored the senior citizens of Illinois’ oldest Black community, Brooklyn, IL, with a sit-down Thanksgiving Dinner. Also know as “Lovejoy”, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad and is the oldest town incorporated by African Americans in the United States. It has the first African Methodist Episcopal Church, an independent denomination, built west of the Appalachian Mountains and the first in Illinois. Its motto is “Founded by Change, Sustained by Courage”.The Brooklyn Mayor, Nathaniel O’Bannon, Jr. and Illinois State House Representative Eddie Lee Jackson were in attendance at Lovejoy High School for the festivities.

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]]>http://bsmcswil.com/swil-honors-the-senior-citizens-of-brooklyn-illinois-nov-2010/feed0SWIL Buffalo Soldiers Give Thanksgiving Baskets to Local Area Families – Nov 2010http://bsmcswil.com/swil-buffalo-soldiers-give-thanksgiving-baskets-to-local-area-families
http://bsmcswil.com/swil-buffalo-soldiers-give-thanksgiving-baskets-to-local-area-families#commentsFri, 10 Dec 2010 01:58:37 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=1774The SWIL Buffalo Soldiers set out on their third annual Thanksgiving Dinner Basket Give-Way to needy familes from Belleville, East St Louis and Cahokia, Illinois. This year the families were selected through local churches. They were given turkeys and all the fixings for a proper Thanksgiving dinner. This gives our club great pride to be in a position to donate these items to these families once again.

]]>http://bsmcswil.com/swil-buffalo-soldiers-give-thanksgiving-baskets-to-local-area-families/feed0Buffalo Soldiers Raise Money For The Susan G. Komen “Race For The Cure” – Jun 2010http://bsmcswil.com/buffalo-soldiers-raise-money-for-the-susan-g-komen-race-for-the-cure-jun-2010
http://bsmcswil.com/buffalo-soldiers-raise-money-for-the-susan-g-komen-race-for-the-cure-jun-2010#commentsMon, 21 Jun 2010 02:47:59 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=1614The Southwest Illinois and Saint Louis chapters of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club joined forces to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Through the generosity of our members and friends we were able to donate over $1100 to this worthy cause. This is just one of the many ways we give back to our communities.

Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested nearly $1.5 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

]]>http://bsmcswil.com/buffalo-soldiers-raise-money-for-the-susan-g-komen-race-for-the-cure-jun-2010/feed0SWIL Soldiers Present a Donation to Fund Raisers for Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital – May 2010http://bsmcswil.com/swil-soldiers-present-a-donation-to-fund-raisers-for-saint-jude-childrens-research-hospital
http://bsmcswil.com/swil-soldiers-present-a-donation-to-fund-raisers-for-saint-jude-childrens-research-hospital#commentsMon, 10 May 2010 18:39:59 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=1534The SWIL Soldiers donated $250 to Belleville-area high school students who held a Teeter-Totter-A-Thon fund raiser in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is located in Memphis, Tennessee. The students took turns on the Teeter-Totters, working in shifts over a 48 hour period and were sponsored by several organizations and individuals.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children’s catastrophic diseases. St. Jude was founded by entertainer Danny Thomas on the premise that “no child should die in the dawn of life.” Thomas named the hospital for Saint Jude Thaddeus, the Catholic patron saint of hospitals, desperate cases and lost causes. Thomas was a struggling young entertainer when he knelt in a Detroit church before a statue of St. Jude Thaddeus and asked the saint to “show me my way in life and I will build you a shrine.”

All medically eligible patients who are accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family’s ability to pay. St. Jude is the only pediatric research center in the United States where families never pay for treatments that are not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. In addition to providing medical services to eligible patients, St. Jude also assists families with transportation, lodging, and meals. Three separate specially-designed patient housing facilities—Grizzly House for short-term (up to two weeks), Ronald McDonald House for medium-term (two weeks to 3 months), and Target House for long-term (3 months or more)—provide housing for patients and up to three family members, with no cost to the patient. These policies, along with research expenses and other costs, cause the hospital to incur more than $2.4 million in operating costs each day. Around $180,000 is covered by patient insurance, the remaining $2.22 million/day is funded by charitable contributions.

]]>http://bsmcswil.com/swil-soldiers-present-a-donation-to-fund-raisers-for-saint-jude-childrens-research-hospital/feed0SWIL partners with organizations to restore an historic cemeteryhttp://bsmcswil.com/swil-partners-with-organizations-to-restore-historic-cemetary
http://bsmcswil.com/swil-partners-with-organizations-to-restore-historic-cemetary#commentsSun, 06 Dec 2009 00:22:21 +0000http://bsmcswil.com/?p=790In late 2007 the SWIL chapter became aware of a local area cemetery in East Carondolet, Illinois that possibly held the remains of a Buffalo Soldier. Members of the club rode out to the site and discovered a long forgotten plot of land surrounded by farm fields that was over grown and contained obvious signs of vandalism and grave desecration. The restoration was more than our chapter could accomplish alone.

We sought to find more information and eventually met members of the Flat Creek Missionary Baptist Church of East Carondolet, IL. This church is the oldest Black church in the State of Illinois. It was established in 1809 before Illinois statehood and is still a vibrant place of worship. At one time the plot was used to bury church members and others from the town.

With the involvement of a United States Congressman, County Officials, bordering land owners, a major railroad corporation and the mayors of two adjacent cities; the church members, anthropologists from the University of Illinois, members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Saint Clair County(IL) Genealogical Society, the Saint Clair County Levee District, the SWIL chapter of Buffalo Soldiers and other interested parties soon gathered at the church to form a committee and hold meeting in order devise a plan to restore the cemetery. Through old records and a discovered broken headstone, a member of the 6th Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery (C.H.A.), Company “I” was found to be buried here.

Sgt. Jack Jackson enlisted on December 8, 1863 and was posted at Natchez, Mississippi. He was one of 76,000 Black soldiers to be enlisted to fight for the Union during the Civil War and was instrumental in recruiting Blacks who were apprehensive about joining the Army. He was a formative figure, known as “Big Jack”. He traveled with White Unionofficers on their recruiting jaunts. Dressed in a sergeant’s Army jacket and striped military pants, armed with a musket and cartridge box, and sitting astride a horse, “Big Jack” was probably the first Black soldier many plantation hands had ever seen, and his appearance created a stir in the slave quarters. He managed to convince many slaves to leave their families and take up arms as members of the Union Army.

He accompanied General Grant at the famous Battle of Milliken’s Bend where his heroism became apparent. A detachment of 1410 men, of whom 160 were Whites, and the remainder were ex-slaves fought Confederate forces at Milliken’s Bend. During the battle “Big Jack” receiveda bullet wound to his head that he survived. The bravery of the Black soldiers during this battle completely revolutionized the sentiment of the Army with regard in the employment of Negro troops.

Records indicate that he was 25 years of age on December 29, 1864 when he married Mary Johnson in Vidalia, Louisiana.

In June of 1865 Jackson submitted to a Field Officers Court Marshall for what appears to be a loss of 83 cents worth of camp equipage. There are no records of a defense of the crime recorded in documents obtained from the National Archives, merely that the punishment was quite severe: having to pay a $10 fine from his pay, and to serve 20 days of hard labor, 10 of which he was to be fed only bread and water.

On May 13, 1886 Jackson finally mustered out of the service having received his last paycheck December 31, 1865. It is not known at this point how he arrived in Illinois. There is one mention in the St. Clair County History – 1881, that the first local store was kept by Misters Green and Jackson and was situated on State Street in the old village of East Carondolet.

Interviews with an elderly owner of one of the oldest Black funeral homes in the area have led us to believethat up to three Black Buffalo Soldiers are buried here. We fully understand that soldiers joining the Army from 1866 to 1944 served during a era when they were referred to as “Buffalo Soldiers”, but these members of The United States Colored Troops deserve our attention because of their sacrifices. The calendar marking their years of service will not delineate them from our name sakes. The small plot of land may contain the graves of up to 1,000 people. Records found to date show burials dating back to 1878. All of these people deserve to rest in peace, in graves that are properly maintained and respected.